The best way to deal with idiots like Robson is to ignore them!

What do I care... I mean Honda usually leaves F1 when the rules don't go there way (the 1960's & early 90's ring a bell???). They've amassed the F1 know how to train the next generation of engineers for the next couple of decades. I'm really sorry to Jenson Button, Rubens Barichello & Ross Brawn who will porobably lose their drives/ jobs should there be no buyers. I wonder if Ferrari will still rehire Brawn?

kirk, you are right. I apologise.

f1nestkind - do u really need to correct someone's grammer.

Kirk98725 - it should be "I'm glad that Button doesn't have a drive for next year. He should HAVE stuck with William...". Or possibly "should've".

Im glad that Button doesn't have a drive for next year. He should of stuck with Williams and seen out the contract he had with them instead of buying his way out with Honda's help. He should of looked at BAR/Honda's past with Jacques Villeneuve who went to BAR/Honda as a past champion and ended up a nobody in F1 and Button has done the same. If Button is to stay in F1 he needs to leave whats left of Honda and go elsewhere.

Thanks for your text message but I won't go a penny over six hundred quid.

f1nestkind!, best post ive seen on this in ages!, keep up the good work m8!, hope ur bid is accepted!

Dear Mr Fukui, I forgot one important question. Will you do me a discount for cash? Cheers, Dave.

Dear Mr Fukui, I saw your advert in the Auto Trader and wanted to express an interest in buying your team. Are you able to confirm that that nice Mr. Brawn is included in the advertised price? Also, is it possible to clarify the position regarding the two drivers. We've heard a rumour that the slower they drive, the more you pay them. Is this true? If so, can we provide our own drivers? Or are yours prepared to 'do a deal'? We can offer a competitive package including travel expenses and BUPA. (Incidentally I have spoken to Mr Button and he pronounces your name quite differently to me. Apologies if I have been getting it wrong). On the subject of engines, I understand that yours are not included in the sale but by pure co-incidence we have a couple of old 3 litre Ford units and a few ZF boxes knocking about at the back of the lock up. Do you think they would fit? Also, before we decide whether to make you an offer, would you answer one final question? How fast does it go? Regards, Dave.

Is Honda going to find a buyer? IMO, it's not only a that with no Honda engine, the design of the chassis and the rest of it is thrown into question. In general Honda F1 is too wired into the Honda corporation, its engineering and its resources to be a viable acquisition for anyone else -- at least at the price Honda no doubt expects. The team is a top team only in terms of its budget, and who of the non-manufacturers has the budget to maintain the scope of what Honda was trying to do? Forget Prodrive. Prodrive has experience and ambition but it has not shown itself to be financially capable or adventuresome, so unless the deal is limited to a partial transfer of assets, I doubt Dave Richards can write the check. Nor would he / Prodrive assume the liabilities that this deal would entail.

What gets me is that for the 2008 new concord agreement signed off in 07, there were apparantly 21 applications for a spot on the grid. The 11 teams on the grid and 10 others, of which Pro-Drive were the succesfull addition (until customer cars were made void). All of a sudden we are at 9 teams and wondering if it will be 8. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED???????

What's next? Well for starters, I'm guessing that more than a few organizers are going to want a discount from Bernie on the fees they're paying. Most of the contracts were signed based on 22 car grids(11 teams); we're now at 18 and falling. 16 cars around Spa's going to look a bit lame. 3 car teams maybe? Also, as I've mentioned before, three of the teams have banks as major sponsor. Think RBS will re-up with Williams when the contract runs out? BMW, Mercedes, & Ferrari won't be leaving soon, regardless of retail sales. At that end of the market, the cost can be justified. Added to everything else, the technical backwater that F1 has become must have made it easier for Honda to pull out. For those who disagree, we just have to look at LeMans type sports racing. My guess is that the next most likely to go will be Renault. Sales are awful for Nissan & Renault, and business isn't too good at ING either. Lastly, I think the talk of David Richards taking over from Honda is probably wishful thinking. Great facilities and staff true, but from who will he borrow the money? Has anyone tried looking at the credit markets lately? cheers

I would love to see Prodrive get behind this... They want to get into F1, this is better than getting a Customer Car. C'mon Dave, use your noggin

So Hondas biggest market is North America. There is a Moto GP race in North America and Honda are staying Moto GP, there are IRL races in North America and Honda are staying in IRL, there are no F1 Races in North America and Honda is pulling out of F1, Who knew? Well done Bernie!

Does Jenson still have Sir Frank's number? Will Honda regret there decision to bow out as loser if Toyota manage to find themselves competetive next year. Wouldn't this be the worst PR exercise for the Honda brand then giving the benefit of all those R&D dollars which have already been spent a final year.

I think this is a bad idea....am i right?

I've read quite a bit indicating that Honda's work on the 2009 car and especially the KERS system was way ahead of everyone else...if that's the case, then A.) Honda's knee-jerk reaction has erased the prospect of company-saving F1 results, and B.) Prodrive, or whoever buys up the team, have an opportunity to win races in their first F1 season. Takeo Fukui can backpedal all he wants, but the fact remains that he and his company have pretty much screwed over the fans and the sport as a whole. Now let's just hope that someone has the smarts to capitalize on Honda's gaffe.

What evidence do we really have that the 2009 chassis would be all that great? Doesn't everyone say that? Remember how BAR was going to be a winner right out of the box? I would love it if it were true, add a little more competition to the mix, but... And Jense really does deserve more than he's gotten.

I really hope they can get to the grid for everyone's sakes. Perhaps Jenson, Ross, Nick et al would consider a percentage cut in salaries in order to off-set the number of redundancies? Now that would show faith in the team and its members that they praise so fully. If all their public optimism is proved fruitful, no doubt they can have some pay rises later. After all, there are no pay rises (or packets) in a defucnt team.

Let's hope that Dave buys the team and Ross can get his old team to sell him engines. This combination could easily find their way to the front of the grid.

Excellent article. It would do Jenson a lot of good to be seen to help the team in their hour of need and also, 1F (F1 backwards) the car is competetive, to tidy his reputation too. I cannot think of a better situation than Roass Brwan and Dave Richards heading a British Team with a British Driver with their backs to the wall and delivering! (Webteam, By the way, your link to the "Jenson Visits Factory" story on the home page, doesnt work.)